Zoom + Alexa in custom skill

API and Webhooks
1

Description
Our company would like to build a custom meeting system on Alexa. More specifically, we would like a skill that uses some domain specific dialogue/logic and transfers the user to a representative under certain conditions. We’ve been exploring a few options. One of the options I came across would be to use Alexa For Business along with Zoom Rooms to enable meetings.

The catch is that we need:

  • a custom skill, we can’t use the off-the-shelf Alexa Zoom skill.
  • to use the Alexa device to transmit the meeting audio.

Is there any documentation on how to build such a skill? Is the current Zoom Alexa skill open source (so I can learn from it)?

Error
I can’t find any documentation on how to build such a skill.

I found this: https://github.com/zoom/alexa/blob/master/index.js but it seems old and incomplete.

2

Hey @istrau2, thanks for posting and using Zoom!

You can build a custom skill and integrate the Zoom APIs. The documentation to build a skill will be on the AWS Alexa side. Here is a tutorial on how to create a custom Alexa skill.

As for the audio, if your computer audio output is set to be the Alexa device, then that should work fine.

As for the Zoom Alexa Github repo, that is indeed outdated.

Thanks,
Tommy

3

Thanks for the quick reply @tommy.

The issue here is not how to build a skill, rather how to integrate Zoom rooms into a skill in the same way as Zoom has integrated Zoom rooms as a conference provider in Alexa for business.

The issue here is that there may not be any computer near the Alexa device. We’d like to have an audio only meeting via the Alexa device using Zoom rooms. I assume this kind of functionality is available currently using the Alexa for business + Zoom, we would just need to duplicate that functionality from a custom skill.

Is the current Zoom skill open source or is there any inclination to open source it?

4

Hey @istrau2,

I see now, thanks for the clarification. You basically want to use the Alexa as the computer / Zoom Room?

I’m not sure this is possible with our API’s as we don’t have an Alexa SDK.

You could use Alexa to manage your meetings and users, but not for in meeting functionality.

Thanks,
Tommy

5

Yes, that’s it, we’d like to connect directly from the smart speaker to the zoom room. Isn’t that how this works: https://docs.aws.amazon.com/a4b/latest/ag/use-zoom.html

We don’t need an Alexa SDK. We can build the Alexa skill with NodeJS and use your web SDK (or just code if from scratch). In other words, I am not so concerned with implementation details as I am with the fundamental design (and if its even possible). The only reason I ask is because it seems Zoom already has a working skill for Alexa for business…

Thanks again

6

Hey @istrau2,

With our API, it would be possible to make an Alexa skill to Join / Leave Zoom Room meetings, but to have the Alexa device be the speaker Is not supported unless you wire in, or bluetooth connect the display to the Alexa device.

https://www.amazon.com/Zoom-Video-Communications-Inc-Alexa/dp/B076HC5CC8

“Zoom skill adaptor enables Zoom+Alexa users to start or join zoom meetings with a voice command. Note that this adaptor makes use of existing Zoom Room deployments and will not work for regular Zoom meetings. Only Zoom account admins can enable this on their Zoom Room accounts.”

Thanks,
Tommy

7

@tommy Thanks, that clears it up.

1 Like
8

Happy to help!

Let us know if you have any other questions! :slight_smile:

Thanks,
Tommy